Film fans hustle to Oscars parties

Monday

Mar 3, 2014 at 6:00 AMMar 3, 2014 at 12:36 PM

WORCESTER — When Bob Oborne said he felt tingly at Nick's Sunday night, he wasn't talking about the effect of his cocktail. Mr. Oborne, of Millbury, and his family were sitting in the booth. Yes, THE booth — the banquette featured so prominently, along with other Worcester landmarks, in "American Hustle."

By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — When Bob Oborne said he felt tingly at Nick's Sunday night, he wasn't talking about the effect of his cocktail.

Mr. Oborne, of Millbury, and his family were sitting in the booth. Yes, THE booth — the banquette featured so prominently, along with other Worcester landmarks, in "American Hustle."

The buzz at the Millbury Street bar wasn't from the absinthe Sunday night; it was of the Oscar variety, as dozens of fans of the bar, the movie, the city, or all three packed in to watch the Academy Awards broadcast live.

Mr. Oborne, his wife, Cynthia Burr, his daughter, Elizabeth Oborne, and her girlfriend Emily Varden were tucked into the booth, occupying the same space once held by stars Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Rohm

The city lent itself well to the gritty, 1970s look that "American Hustle" was going for; Nick's proprietor Nicole Watson called it authentic scenery.

"We still have quite a bit that hasn't changed," said Ms. Watson, who along with many others at Nick's dressed in period garb for the party.

With its ornate pressed-tin ceiling and acres of richly stained wood, Nick's itself doesn't seem dated; it's timeless. And it's dark, which was probably a big draw for the film crew.

"I think we have that dark ambiance the movie was looking for with those tight shots," Ms. Watson said.

She said there may have been other considerations, as well. The bar had worked with some of the crew on the "Gilded Lilys" television pilot in 2012, and understood how to accommodate a film crew. Changes were made to the bar; banquettes were installed in the large room off the bar. Only two remain from the filming, including the one featured in the scene.

Ms. Varden said she thought Nick's was just gorgeous apart from its role in the film. Ms. Burr said Ms. Watson's eye for décor is perfect, and said she heard that when the set people came in for the movie, they thought the set designers had already been there.

Ms. Oborne and her parents consider themselves regulars at Nick's. They all agreed they get a kick out of seeing their favorite bar, along with other locales in the city, used in the movie.

"It's fun knowing it's somewhere you go to all the time," Ms. Oborne said. "It's like 'Yes! I know that place!' "

Ms. Burr said Worcester's a good place to shoot a movie like "American Hustle" because of the variety of scenery.

"In the span of about 10 blocks you have 10 different genres of architecture," Ms. Burr said. "That's a filmmakers dream."

She said other places that featured prominently in the film, like the area of Main Street near Shack's, were likely chosen because they were "very 1970s."

"That's what the 1970s looked like," she said.

Mr. Oborne said he'd like to see the movie make a clean sweep. That dream died quickly, when Jared Leto beat out Bradley Cooper and others for best actor in a supporting role just after the broadcast started.

Still, the crowd appeared to be enjoying the evening, and even gave Mr. Leto some muted applause when he took the stage to give what appeared to be a heartfelt acceptance speech.

Ms. Watson said she would open up the bar for a film crew again if given the chance. In fact, the bar has been scouted since. The city has a lot to offer the film industry, she said.

"We're not jaded by being in films all the time," Ms. Watson said. "People in the bigger cities are like, 'Aw crap, I can't get to Starbucks because there's a movie being filmed outside.' "

One of those places everyone in the city knows is Union Station, and at the historic landmark that also shared scenes with the actors and actresses in "American Hustle," the Worcester Film Festival and Luciano's sponsored "An Evening at the Oscars" to celebrate.

As Lupita Nyong'o of "12 Years a Slave" edged out Ms. Lawrence for best supporting actress, Mr. Lewis shrugged it off ("It is hers to lose," he said of Ms. Nyong'o before she grabbed her Oscar) and said Worcester is going through a renaissance and deserves the attention it's getting from the film industry.

Mr. Lewis, who heads up the Worcester Film Festival, said he was still hopeful "Ameican Hustle" might pull off an upset by the end of the night, because of the old-school filmmaking approach of director David O. Russell might rub academy voters the right way. But "12 Years a Slave" had definitely solidified into the front-runner.